Talk:Zig-Zoë Relationship/@comment-25290273-20150109182553/@comment-25290273-20150109231724
While I admire the heroism of your argument, your position both runs tangent to mine and lacks a foundation that acknowledges the facts of Zoe's PARTICULAR case. My argument wasn't to accuse ALL victims of emotional injury of capitalizing on their image, it didn't ignore the reality that trauma legitimately affects their behavior for better or worse, and it didn't put a time limit on how long they're allowed to feel damaged from their state of emotional disrepair (elements that you've innocently, yet erroneously assigned to my argument). What it attempted to do instead was point out that emotional injury should never be utilized as a justification to proceed with problematic behavior that injured people may otherwise avoid...especially when these people have the capacity to act in spite of that emotional injury. The two main premises of my argument were both 1. That she could have avoided behaving a certain way and 2. That she was, IN FACT, shifting between (the guises of) victim and victor, which I believe remain sound in the face of your counterclaim. Let's take a look at the facts of what's happened to support these premises: Zoe mentioned the aftermath of her assault when she first pitched the idea of Oomfchatting nudes for money to Grace, and when she requested to speak at the assembly alongside Principal Simpson. Both of these instances support the claim that she was taking advantage of her image because 1. Neither of these actions were NECESSITATED as solutions to her perceived victimhood 2. Both of these actions led to outcomes she found attractive (fundraising money and credibility gaining), and 3. Both of these actions revealed a manipulation of her image to suade her negotiators (particularly prominent when she smiled after Principal Simpson left, successfully getting him to buy into her "act" of sadness upon hearing of Degrassi Nudes and explaining HOW she would use the act to get her fellow teammates out of trouble). If her antics in the opening scene of Hero vs. Villain didn't make it clear to the audience that she KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOING and CHOSE to use her victimhood as a tool to evade culpability, then I don't know what else does. I agree with you that SOME of her actions were motivated out of a compulsion to define herself (sending nudes to Zig, and joining Power Cheer team in the beginning of the season), but these instances, coupled with her manipulative tactics later on, are EXACTLY what I was referring to when I said she merely switched between the dichotomy of being a "disenfranchised damsel" and "sexually-empowered feminist" in my original comment. Not only does she make it clear that she plays the victim in situations where it would benefit her, she also demonstrates that she has the ability to control the way she wants to be seen (in situations where she PREFERS to be seen as empowered) ON HER OWN TERMS. In light of these observations, the entire foundation of my argument (that she switches between the two at her convenience, and that she was largely in control of her behavior) damages (if not entirely eliminates) the idea that she was really AS helpless and blameless as she's tried to suggest. I entreat you to take SPECIAL notice of the fact that, here, that I am not saying she WASN'T trying to overcome her victimhood, but only that she wasn't trying to do it TO THE SPECIFIC EXTENT that she wanted the people around her to believe. The rest of what you said doesn't contradict anything I've said. Yes, it does take years to get over serious emotional injury. Yes, people won't just sweep their injuries under the rug and move on without having any emotional troubles. Yes, it can be difficult to figure out how to deal with your emotions after having a serious traumatic encounter. And yes, people ARE going to end up making poor decisions as a result of trying to fight the feeling of being "without a choice." But as one will learn as he grows up, there comes a point in life where your victimhood WILL stop compelling you to behave a certain way, and a time where you have to stop RELYING on the justification of all these realities in order to take responsibility for what YOU do without their influence. Many of these circumstances are bound to happen, but when you begin to APPROACH your decisions with the attitude that you are counted exempt from any consequences you incur because a tragedy of the past erases any responsibility you have in the matter, you are essentially using your victimhood as a tool to shield yourself from any implications that might fall upon you in the process.